Power unit for use on automotive vehicles



June 9, 1931'. c. H. DUNCAN 1,809,331

rowmuruw FOR USE on AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES Filed Sept. 22, 1925 2Sheets-Sheet 1 June- 9, 1931. I c. H. DUNCAN 1,809,331

7 POWER UNIT FOR USE ON AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES Filed Sept. 22, 1925 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 1931 aoasar PATENT OFFI onnnnns a. DUNcAN,on ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA PowEnl'UNrr FOR Usn N AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES vApplication filed September 22, 1925. Serial No; 57,981.

My invention relates to power units for use in connectlon' wlthautomotive vehicles, andrelates moreparticularly to a centralized powerunit and a mounting therefor I whereby power may be distributed toactuate various devices carried by anlautomotive vehole and whereby suchdevlces may be operated simultaneously with or independently of eachother.

1 31" An object of my inventionisto provide an I v apparatus of theabove named character whereby a centralized power unit may beutilized-to operate oneor more remote d-e-Q vlces.

Another object of myinvention is to construct a power unit for use withautomotive vehicles including a combined power unit housing and a motorfuel receiving compartment whereby power, generated within-the housingmay be utilized to feed motor fuel tothe compartment inthehousing-compartn v r s Another object of my invention is to con- Istruct a centralized power unit for use with automotive'vehicles wherebythe power unit may beutilized to operate a vehicle signal device andhavinga clutch device carried thereby-for connectingthe source ofpowerto the signal'devicev V v y 1' Another object of :my invention is toconstruct a centralized power .unit for usewith automotive vehicleswhich is extremely'sim ple of construction and operation and which willutilize a comparatively small space when assembled upon the vehicle.

Other obj ects and advantages of my invention will become more apparentas the fol lowing description progresses, reference being made to theaccompanying drawings whichform a part of this specificationand in whichlike charactersare employedto des ignate like parts throughout thesame.

Fig.1 is a side elevationfof an automobile connections from the gasolinetankto the debroken away.

cleaner or other mechanism and showing the 7 g chassis showing my powerunit in position: under the hood, and also showmg the plpe Fig. 3 is avertical transversesection takenon line 33-ofFig. 2, showing the fuelstorage compartment. i

Fig. 4 is an enlargeddetail view.mostly in section showing a motor fuelreceiving re- 5 ceptacle used in connection with my device.

Fig. 5 is a detail view partly in section of mechanism for operating a 1wind shield power connection thereto; t

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic'view of the e1e-.-

trical circuit employed in operating the p power unit and hornactuatingparts, and

Fig.7 is an elevation of a second formof myinvention showing a poweroonnectiontof the engine cam shaft and a mechanically operated hornclutch. i 1 a In the drawings in Figs. 1, 2and3 showing oneembodiment ofmy inventio nI have rep resentedatl an automobile chassis having theusual engine block 2 mounted thereon. horn3 is bolted to a motor casingltogether with a diaphragm 5 and a shaftsupporting I spiderfi secured bythe bolts7. The diaphragm 5 is provided with a projection 01?"? stud 8whichgis adapted to contact with a toothed actuatorf9 when the latter isproj ected to rotate inthe pathiof the member 8.

' Thecasing 4 extends rearwardly and terminates in an annular inturnedflange 10. A i ,6 housing 11 having reinforced tapped portions 12 isadapted to be secured to the casingliby 1 "means of screws 13. Anelectric motor frame 14 is providedwithan outwardly extending flange 15which is adapted to seatbetween j the flange 10 of the casing l. and.the outer' surfaces of the reinforced portions 12 andis I 7 providedwithapertures in alignment with the screw holes in the flange 10topermit screws 13 to pass therethrough to securethe motor frame '14: ina rigidposition withinthe casing 4 i The motor frame lis provided the '1usualfield' poles16-and terminates at one end v ina bearing 17, I Ahollow shaft 18- which I carries an armature 19 anda commutatorI2'0rotates within theibearing 17 at one end a'nd' 1 extends through abearing 21 formed in the wall 22 of the housing 11,, A washer on theflike 2'3 isprovided about the shaft 1 8intermediate one end of the.armature windings ,a toothed clutch member 29.

and one end of the bearing 21. Suitable insulated brushes 24; arecarried within the motor frame 14 and bear against the segments of thecommutator 20 in the usual manner. Insulated binding posts 20 aremounted on the motor frame, and are adapted to receive wires leadingfroma source of electrical current for supplying current to the motor.

The housing 11 is provided at its right hand end, in Fig. 2, with an,extension defined bythe walls 25, and is also provided near this endwith a partition wall, 26 having a hear.

ing 27 therein which is in alignment with the bearing 21. A partitionwall '28 is formed preferably transversely in the lower portion of thehousing 11 and its ends are integrally formed with the walls 22 and 26respectively. This, partition wall extends transversely and thenupwardly of the housing 11, as at 27,

Fig.3, and is provided with a bearing 28' in the upwardly extendingportion 27. A vent V is provided'in the housing 11 as shown in Fig. 3.It will be noted then that by this novel construction I have formed afuel receiving compartmentin the forward and lower portions of thehousingll and this compartment may be more accurately defined as thespace enclosed byt-he upper wall of the ,l 1ousing 11, and the walls 22,26, 27?, 28, 42,

a worm 32 the ends of which have bearing engagement with the respectivefacing end i surfaces of thebearings21 and 27. A worm gear 33 keyed torotate with a shaft 34- which is supported at one end within the bearing28". and at another point within a bearing 35 formed in a plate 36 whichis secured'to'the rear of the housing 11 by screws 37. Suitable packingmaterial 37 maybe provided in the bearing 35 if desired. Shaft 34extends forwardlyof the bearing 28 .and is providedwith a detachablecrank arm 38.

I A connecting rod 39 ispivotally secured at oneend. tot-hefreeend ofthe arm 38 and at its other end toa piston 40. A cylinder 41 iscarriedin the lower wall12 of thehousing 11 and is in communication atits top with the ,motorffuel receiving compartment of the housing 11.The lower end of the cylinder 41 terminates in .a pipe connection 43, towhich a'pipe 70 leading t'o'the fuel tank 69, is coupled, check valveand valve seat 4 1 is provided in the ,lower' portion of the cylinder toprevent back flow of fuel from the cylinder through the pipe 70. Piston10 is likewise provided with a check valve 45 which seats within anopening 46 in the lower wall of the piston. A discharge opening 43 isprovided in the bottom of the housing 11 and is adapted to receive anoutlet pipe connection 19.

One end of the shaft 34 extends through the bearing 35 and through abearing 50 formed in a plate 51 which latter is secured to the plate 36by means of screws 52. This end of the shaft 3 1 is adapted fordetachable connection with a flexible cable or the like 53 which iscarried within a protective tubing 54. In this embodiment of myinvention, I have pro vided the cable 53 for transmitting power from theshaft 34 to a wind shield cleaner or like device which is shown indetail in Fig. 5, but I may also transmit power through the cable 53 toany other device or accessory carried on the vehicle. a

Referring again to Fig. 2, the auxiliary housing 25 is provided with aflange 55 to which is adapted to be secured anelectromagnetic device 56,and an end-plate 57, by means of the screws 58.

This electro-magnetie device preferably consists "of a solenoid magnet.59 having pole pieces 60 extending preferably rearwardlyand inwardly asshown in the drawings.

lVithin the hollow shaft 18 and supported by a suitable bearing 61 inthe spider-6 at its forward end and a suitable thrust bearing 62"carried by the end plate 57 is a diaphragm actuatingsh aft 63, havingkeyed thereto at-its forward enda toothed diaphragm actuating member 9and slidably and rotatably keyed to its rearward end, a toothed clutchmember 6d. The member 9 is normally in contact with the stud 8 of thediaphragm 5 and when the clutch members 29'and 64 are engaged and theshaft 63 is being rotated under power, the actuator 9 will impartvibrations to the diaphragm 5 to cause the signal to be given. Themember 6a is provided with outwardly extending armature portions 6 1"formed'of magnetic material 1 which are adapted to .be sucked betweenthe. pole pieces 60 with the member 64 when the coil 56 is energized.The clutch members .29 and 64 are in alignment and are dished. on-

1 their adjacent faces. A coil spring :65 is dis-v posed between theclutchv members 29 and 64 and normally exerts its compressionthereagainst'to force theclutch member Gate the right of 2 along shaft63. The right! band end of shaft 63,-'Fiz. 2 is supported: in 'a 1thrust bearing formed in the end plate'57"' and 'I have provided anadjustable thrust bearing surface 62 whereby'the'movement of ize currentsource and. a circuit make and break device are adapted to be securedto. suitable insulated binding posts 67 carried by the cas- 13o ing25andwhich'are connected to the wind ings of the electro-magneticdevice. "It will be .noted that withinthe housing 11 I have provided amotorifuel receiving com partment which is defined by the. walls 11; 22;26, 27, 28, 42 and plate68 and which is used to temporarily store motorfuel drawn from the tank '69 by the operation of the piston 40. When theapparatus is in operation, upward movement of the piston 40 within thecylin der 41 will. cause motor fuel to be drawn from the tank 69.throughthe pipe 70, passthe valve 44 and flow into the cylinder 41.Downward movement of. the piston; will cause the ivalve 44 to close andthe valve 45 to open whereby the fuel will be lifted from the cylinderthrough the opening in the piston and into the fuel receivingcompartment within the house ing 11. The fuel collected within thisconipartment is discharged by gravity through the opening 48 and carriedby means of apipe 71 to. a reserve storing receptacle72which is shown indetail in'Fig. 4. This receptacleiis provided with a removable cover :73which may beheld in place by a spring armorthe like .74. 'An' overflowpipe=7 5 extends within the receptacle 7 2 to a point near-the topthereof and isad'aptedto carry oif'any. excessfuel above the level ofthis pipe; through a pipe 76 and back to the tank 69 where the excessfuel will be deposited. A second outlet 77 is provided in the lowerportion'of the-receptacle 72- and communicates with the fuel chamber ofthe usual carbureter 7 8 from whence it is suppliedtotheenginecylinders.

The motor isoperatedby electricalcurrent from a storage battery? 9 orany: other.

suitable source of electrical energy as indi--' cated in Fig. 1, and inthe diagram shown inFigf6. The negative pole of the battery. ispreferably grounded to the vehicle frame, as shown, althoughsavseparatefreturn wire may be used if desired. The positive pole of the.battery is connected to one terminal of the usual ignition switch 80 andabridge.

ingcontact'swit'ch '82 by means of a wire 81'.

A wire 84. leads from the other terminal by the switch'arm 82 in such amanner that whenthe arm is'depressed the 'contact'83 connected to themotor will be first connected to the positive side of the battery andwill remain so connected while thejarm is further depressed to engagethe contact 87 connected mum coil 56. In this manner,

it will be seen that I have provided means in the form'ofxabridgingxswitch whereby themotor141nay be connected tothe batteryindependently of or throughgthe ignition switch as desired so that thedriver may operate the motor to pump motor fuel or *PGI'fOIHl otherfunctions as vdescribed herein and while the vehicle is at rest.-

depressing the'ar'm 82 so that; the contact 87 islengaged the clutch 29will be engaged to operate the signaldevice. The opposite terminals ofthe motor 14 and the coil .56v are connected to the vehicle ground by awire 87.

-Refer ring. to Fig. 5, whichxshows mechanism by which .avvindshieldlwiperorother device may beoperated, Iprovide' a'casing 88which may be'secured to the windshield framein any suitablemanner. Thiscasing is provided with bearings'89 in which a shaft 90 isrotatably'mounted. 'One end of the'shaft carries ahelical gear 91which'is in .ll'lBSll with a second helical gear-92 roe tatably mountedwithin the casing.- A con necting rod 93 connects-with an arm94 ro-fitatable" with the gearQQa-nd with a-rocker 1 arm 95 whiclr'issecuredto awiper shaft 96. Bvmeans' of this arrangement I. enabled to transmitpower which is applied to the shaft 90 through a minimum of ele-- mentsand to. apply. thatpower effectively toa wiper or the device which issecured to the outer end of the shaft 96. As is shown i 1 in Fig. .5the-fie ible cable 53 is ,detachably:

connected to the shaft 90..by a pin 97,-While' a sleeve, 98 maybe-proyi'ded. to prevent, ac-

cidental displacement of the pin.

'- :.-'It:.willbe noted from the above descrip-f tion. and the drawingsthat I have provided. avery:efficient,centralizedpower unit forperforming variousfunctions' at different. points about the vehicle,such as. pumping motor fuel into astorage tank forreserve supply, andoperating a signal device or windshield. cleaner orotherdesiredmechanisms. 4 1 H lta-will also-be noted that I have provided a.very. economically constructed apparatus forp.erforming the various.functionsloutlined herein. :o In operation, the'ignitionswitch 80' maybe-closed independently of themotor-and signal circuit completingswitch. 82 to pump motor fuel ,fromzthe tank 69 to the receivingcompartment in .the; housing. llwhereupon it willjbe delivered to thecarburetor for consumption in-the ,enginei Operation of the 'motorlikeivvisdwill-cause mechanicalenergy to be; transmitted through thecable 5'3;.to,operate thekniechanism shown inl ig.. l

5. During the. .operationof the motor'and". when .it is desirable togive aniaudible sig nal as by sounding theihorn. 3,.the operator merelycloses the switch 82,entirely'whereby the coil 56is energized-and causesthe arm'a-, tur 64 tobe moved tothe leftin Fig 2 engaging theclutchmembers 29; and, 6 1 and causing the actuatorr9z to be rotated incontact withthe projection onthe horn diaphragmi5. p

;In; Fi-g..7 'I.hav.e illustrated another embodiment of 1 my inventionwhich. consists in providingza .centralizedpower unit and a novelhousing therefor adaptedto be operated; through a power: connectionpreferably tothe engine, although itis'tobe understood thatiIrmay, ifdesired, provide a power conmotion to the vehicle transmission, onto anywhich meshes .withza similar'gear 105 keyed to'the'hollowshaft'18.It-will be noted that by meansof this construction I am enabled togreatly reduce the-size of the. motor casing 4-and utilize'sthis casingto house the gears 104'an'd .105. The :power is transmitted through-theshaft 18 to'the various points asdescribed in connection-with theapparatus-shown in Figs. 1,2'and3, except that in't'he present form Ihaveeliminated the magnetic clutch device and have provided in its placea clutch member'29, 'a collar 106 slida'bly and rotatablymounted:on theshaft 18, said collar having clutch teeth thereon for engaging theclutch teethon the member 29 swhen the collar is moved toward the saidmember, and acollar actuating arm 107 pivotedat .108. This arm engagesthe collar as shown, and is adaptedto shift the collar-into and out-ofposition with the member 29.

The upper endof the arm 107 :is provided for connection with a rod orany other-connection 109 extending to the vehicle dash-board or steeringcolumn for rocking the arm. When the rod 109 is pulled by theoperator,the clutch'members are engaged and'power is transmitted through theclutch to the diaphragm o'fthehorn to givethe signal.

Referring to the embodiment of my invention shown'in Figs. 1 to 6,inclusive, it willbe noted that I have provided an antitheft signalmeans which consists of sounding the horn 3 whenever it is attempted tostart the vehicle engine by closing the switch 82.

Referring'pa-rticularly to Fig. 6, it will be seen that when the carhas'been locked by locking the ignition switch 80 -intoopen positionasis the usualcu stom, and when it isattempted to operatethemagneto bydepressing the switch 82 to bridgethe contacts 83 and 87, and energizewire 84, the-motor 14c willbeoperated to give'an alarm. Consequentlythe-engine cannot beoperated while the switch 82 is 3 in complete closedposition without sounding the alarm.

Various changes maybe made in the construction of :my device withoutdeparting from thespirit ofz'myinvention or the scope chambers, one ofwhich is'a liquid receiving ,chamberfin:communicat1onw1th liquidreservoirs,-a 'motor housedin-another of the chambers, "a shaft:rotatably driven :by the motor,rand'mezans driven by-theumotor forpumping liquid into the liquid receiving chamber.

3. Azpowenunit for an automobile comprising a :housing provided withseparated chambers, oneof which is a liquid receiving chamber incommunication with liquid res- GIVOlIS,'a II10tOIIl10uS6d1I1 another ofthe chambers, a'shaft rotatably .driven by the motor, and means drivenby the motor'for pumpingliquid into .the liquid receiving chamber,Fsa-id means including a 'member driven by said shaft and disposedoutside of said liquid receiving chamber.

4. Aself-containedipo wer unit'for an automobile comprising a housingprovided with a plurality of 1 enclosed chambers, 'a'motor in one of thesaid chambersya hollow shaft rotatably driven bythe motor and extendinginto a plurality of the remaining chambers, the shaft being provided insuch chambers with meansfor drivinga plurality of'instrumentalities.

lnztestimony whereof Ihereunto aflix my signature this 2nd day ofSeptember, 1925. CHARLES H. DUNCAN.

